As an integral part of the Roman Catholic Our Lady of Peace parish, St. Joseph’s Church in Ashtabula, OH has been serving the community since the 1930s.

The traditional-style sanctuary, built to hold up to 300 people, supports an older congregation and, according to Pastor Father Raymond Thomas, “some of our community have hearing impairment problems which presented special challenges for our original microphone system. They couldn’t hear my voice because the sound cut out and it wasn’t clear.”

Elaborating on those problems, CAD Development Engineer Craig Huffman adds, “The existing wireless system just didn’t have the range Father Thomas needed to move around the church. They also struggled with vocal clarity and had recurring problems with microphone pickup. ”

A recent upgrade to CAD Audio’s UHF WX100 installation-grade wireless system solved all of those problems. The new system starts with three rack mounted WX100 receivers and three WX155 body packs with rechargeable batteries and BPC drop-in chargers. The body packs are equipped with WXHW and Model 302 cardioid condenser headworn mics and a Model 301 cardioid condenser lavalier mic. A DA100 distribution amp and ANT110 antennas complete the package designed for Father Thomas, Parochial Vicar Father Ernesto Rodriguez and a visiting Deacon.

The result? As Father Thomas says, “I’m very pleased and the sound is beautiful, especially compared to what we had before. The clarity is phenomenal, like night and day. Everyone can hear the spoken word a lot better now, which makes our services much more involving and inclusive.”